1.030 is my curse....

[RTL]

If your water pressure is changing odds are your local municipality has switched water sources. Their website should say how many sources they maintain, but may not say which one they are on or when they switch.

I once did a pilot batch of Vienna Lager but I still had the full batch volume typed in my pH calculator. So I ended up adding about 30 times more acid than I should have. The result was a 1.045 beer that wouldn't go past 1.025. If your municipality switched sources and you don't get your water tested it is possible your mash pH could be dramatically different from what you are used to. In a mash as short as 60 minutes on a 1.070 beer the pH will have a dramatic affect on how active the enzymes are and how much they accomplish. Does your beer taste any flatter, or more basic? Does it taste any sharper or more acidic?

How do your build your water for your brews? Are you just trusting your tap water? If so this would be my number one suspect. I would get some amylase extract from your LHBS, add it to the keg and attach a spunding valve to your gas post, and wait. You won't have to worry about blowoff since bulk fermentation is finished and the enzymes will be working very slowly at ambient temperatures.

From what you've stated IMO yeast has nothing to do with your problem. I use dry yeast for about 80% of my beers with no issue.

FWIW you should always rehydrate dry yeast regardless of whether you are putting it in beer, or a starter. I do 25 gallon batches so when I use dry yeast it is always going into a starter after it has been properly rehydrated in de-aerated water. When the yeast is rehydrating it cannot control was is coming through the cell wall because the osmotic pressure is too high, and the yeast is dormant. If you pitch it to wort it is absorbing sugars and other compounds in the wort that it can't deal with yet, and could be absorbing molecules that the cell wall would normally reject altogether (like hop oils that are toxic to yeast). Simply saying that you did it and it made beer is not evidence that it is an optimal practice for good yeast health.

 

[ryanryates]

Would need to know your grain bill to provide an accurate answer. Also, LHBS can often times mess things up. Did you measure the grains and crush yourself, or did you assume your LHBS measured correctly?

 

[homebrewdr]

US-05 has things out about not having to oxygenate, but oxygenation may help. Many answers here are too complicated. My suggestion is to not move your primary until its finished. There is hardly no need for starters in 5 gallon batches unless re harvesting something fancy. If you use US-05 though, a fresh packet sprinkled on wort should be finished in 1 week tops. I personally only re-use liquid yeast, and only for a lower gravity beer than originally used for. When I was new at brewing, I'd only have a stall (which happened 1-2 times), if I moved my fermenter..the temp change is a shock. Let it do its thing.

 

[TheMadKing]

The misinformation in this thread hurts my brain.

 

[RM-MN]

I'd agree with all of this. ...yeast count being the key, imo. Aeration of course, being a necessity.

I under pitched a LOT of beer in my early brewing (okay, for years). In fact, I'd say I under pitched everything not knowing it until I started considering how important yeast count is - it should be considered and calculated to make sure you have the right number. There are calculators out there for figuring all of these numbers, both age of yeast, and required count based on gravity and volume.

US-05 supposedly ends up with a count of about 200 billion, that quickly diminishes after package date. A beer of 1.070 needs about 250 billion to be an appropriate pitch rate. If the yeast packet is 2 months old, it is already down to near 50%. So, now you have 100 billion. The easy solution is to pitch 2, which is still under pitching but you'll probably be fine with 200.

I always rehydrate dry yeast, even if making a starter. Some get away with pitching directly to wort, but make no mistake it is an under pitch of yeast, and it will be strained.

I brew 10 gallon batches, so buying enough yeast that might already be at 50% viability gets expensive, so I make a starter to get my count up even with dry yeast. The next phase for me is getting good at washing and storing yeast, but I'm not there yet.

This statement is a bunch of BS as dry yeast is extremely time stable. It does not degrade in 2 months.

So too is the statement about the necessity of a large pitch of yeast. Adequate aeration of the wort trumps a big pitch every time.

http://brulosophy.com/2015/04/20/yeast-pitch-rate-single-vial-vs-yeast-starter-exbeeriment-results/

Making a starter with dry yeast may be counterproductive and get you fewer viable cells than simply rehydrating the dry yeast.

 

[The_Bishop]

Er, that Brulosophy article you quoted doesn't exactly show that 'adequate aeration of the wort trumps a big pitch.' In fact, it takes the inadequate pitch a much longer time to start fermentation and longer to reach FG, which indicates that the yeast is struggling. In an amber, some of the obvious yeast flaws will likely be hidden (diacetyl, higher ester production).

If you're harvesting and re-using yeast, this practice will lead to a lot of petite mutant cells and an overall change in the character of the yeast.

That being said, splashing wort around isn't 'adequate' aeration. Does it work? For the most part in average beers, you can get away with it. The shortcomings of inadequate aeration will rear it's ugly head in higher gravity beers via incomplete ferments, fusel alcohols, off-flavors, etc.

 

[RTL]

Making a starter with dry yeast may be counterproductive and get you fewer viable cells than simply rehydrating the dry yeast.

Please see my post above, this is not correct. As long as the yeast was rehydrated first THEN propagated in a starter you will end with a higher cell count, as long as the starter is big enough. If the starter is too small then the high pitch you get from the dry yeast will just burn through the sugar so fast the amount of reproduction you get will be negligible. It won't hurt the yeast though, many people employ short duration low volume methods they call "vitality starters," which is just to wake the yeast up, and get the glycogen stores built up so they're ready to rock :rockin:.

If you can get your hands on a copy of "Brewing Science and Practice" by Higgs (google is your friend). Section 12.9 covers the shock induced response of the yeast cell.

 

[mbobhat]

Just my 2c. I think you already pointed out that you think its the campden tablets, as you said earlier that the untreated ones are doing just fine. You do wanna make sure and stir your water up after you dissolve those tablets and maybe do that in a warmer part of your house, or even just use warm water, and let it sit. The water here in the PNW is generally fine just out of the tap, but I do use a carbon filter and the frequency you are brewing it would save you some time and is not expensive. Safale 05 is a beast and should work under most conditions, so I'm going with the chemical add as the culprit.

EDIT: I'm not sure if it was asked, but how much did you add? For cider making, you generally add more when you want to kill yeast, and less when you want to just get rid of chlorine. Like I said PNW water is generally low in chlorine, so you could even add half the recommended dose and be just fine if you wanna keep treating it with campden.

 

[TheMadKing]

Just my 2c. I think you already pointed out that you think its the campden tablets, as you said earlier that the untreated ones are doing just fine. You do wanna make sure and stir your water up after you dissolve those tablets and maybe do that in a warmer part of your house, or even just use warm water, and let it sit. The water here in the PNW is generally fine just out of the tap, but I do use a carbon filter and the frequency you are brewing it would save you some time and is not expensive. Safale 05 is a beast and should work under most conditions, so I'm going with the chemical add as the culprit.

EDIT: I'm not sure if it was asked, but how much did you add? For cider making, you generally add more when you want to kill yeast, and less when you want to just get rid of chlorine. Like I said PNW water is generally low in chlorine, so you could even add half the recommended dose and be just fine if you wanna keep treating it with campden.

Campden treats 20 gallons of water with 1 tablet. 0.2 tablets is all you need for a 5 gallon batch, which is about 0.13 grams.

 

[RM-MN]

Er, that Brulosophy article you quoted doesn't exactly show that 'adequate aeration of the wort trumps a big pitch.' In fact, it takes the inadequate pitch a much longer time to start fermentation and longer to reach FG, which indicates that the yeast is struggling. In an amber, some of the obvious yeast flaws will likely be hidden (diacetyl, higher ester production).

If you're harvesting and re-using yeast, this practice will lead to a lot of petite mutant cells and an overall change in the character of the yeast.

That being said, splashing wort around isn't 'adequate' aeration. Does it work? For the most part in average beers, you can get away with it. The shortcomings of inadequate aeration will rear it's ugly head in higher gravity beers via incomplete ferments, fusel alcohols, off-flavors, etc.

Please note that each of the points I made were separated into paragraphs, each with its own subject. The third part, the Brulosophy experiment, was not intended to support the second part. That second part was in reference to several posts noting that for a lager at least a 2 liter starer was needed but Gordon Strong has stated that he often makes a lager with a single smack pack. If that works well enough to satisfy a Ninkasi Award winner, why must every beer have a starter. If Gordon Strong's beers were so full of off flavors from an underpitched yeast, would he not notice. Something doesn't stack up.

For most brewers, underpitching or overpitching isn't likely to make a noticable difference in their beers. When you start pushing the limits of the yeast by high OG, then I agree that pitch rate is important.

Also RTL needs to notice that I did not reference pitching a rehydrated yeast into a starter wort. You can build more cells but to do so usually requires a 2 step starter. In most beers that larger pitch is not necessary. Pitching a dry yeast directly into wort without rehydrating is reported to kill up to 50% of the cells.

 

[Lambo3]

This statement is a bunch of BS as dry yeast is extremely time stable. It does not degrade in 2 months.

So too is the statement about the necessity of a large pitch of yeast. Adequate aeration of the wort trumps a big pitch every time.

http://brulosophy.com/2015/04/20/yeast-pitch-rate-single-vial-vs-yeast-starter-exbeeriment-results/

Making a starter with dry yeast may be counterproductive and get you fewer viable cells than simply rehydrating the dry yeast.

You are correct on dry yeast, my mistake, it degrades at 4% per month supposedly.

I'll disagree on pitch rate, it isn't about it being "large" it is about it being appropriate for the given volume and gravity of beer.

 

[Chiller_ale]

What was your pitch temp and wort temp?


From the manufacture Fermentis US-05
http://www.fermentis.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/SafAle-US-05.pdf


REHYDRATION INSTRUCTIONS:
Sprinkle the yeast in minimum 10 times its weight of sterile water or wort at 25 to 29°C (77°F to 84°F).
Leave to rest 15 to 30 minutes.
Gently stir for 30 minutes, and pitch the resultant cream into the fermentation vessel.
Alternatively, pitch the yeast directly in the fermentation vessel providing the temperature of the wort is above 20°C (68°F). Progressively
sprinkle the dry yeast into the wort ensuring the yeast covers all the surface of wort available in order to avoid clumps. Leave for 30 minutes,
then mix the wort using aeration or by wort addition.


This is interesting from Lallemand Belle Saison yeast
http://www.danstaryeast.com/system/files/pdfs/tds-belle-saison-english_0.pdf?download=1

Belle Saison Yeast has been conditioned to survive rehydration, and contains an adequate reservoir of carbohydrates
and unsaturated fatty acids to achieve active growth. It is not necessary to aerate wort

Sprinkle yeast on surface of 10 times its weight of clean sterilized (boiled) tap water at 30-35°C (86-92°F). Do
not use wort, or distilled or reverse osmosis water, as loss in viability may result. GENTLY break any clumps
to ensure that all yeast is in contact with rehydration medium. DO NOT STIR. Leave undisturbed for 15
minutes then suspend yeast completely and leave it for 5 more minutes at 30-35°C (86-92°F). Then adjust
temperature to wort and inoculate without delay.

 

[ncbrewer]

I've always wondered about the differences in rehydration instructions. Is it because of a difference in the products, or just a difference in opinion? I suspect it's just a difference in opinion, and I've been using Danstar's rehydration procedures for both brands of yeast for several years.